Newcomer Ladarius Gunter made quick impact for Hurricanes this spring

There are a lot bigger names among the 33 incoming players at UM than Ladarius Gunter.
A transfer from Fort Scott (Kansas) Community College, Gunter wasn’t even the best-known cornerback Al Golden signed in February. That would be Miramar High’s Tracy Howard, the Hurricanes’ highest-ranked recruit.

But Gunter may end up contributing as much as any newcomer. The Montgomery, Ala., native enrolled at UM in January and quickly made an impression on the football field, earning a starting spot early in spring practice and hanging on to the job when drills ended on April 14.

“I thought if I came in and worked hard, I would be in the rotation,” Gunter said Friday. “But I didn’t think I would end up spring being a starter.”

On a defense desperate for playmakers, Gunter showed signs that he can create turnovers. In UM’s second scrimmage, Gunter intercepted a pass. In the spring game, he forced a fumble and finished with a game-high seven tackles.

The tackles may be more significant than the turnovers he created. In recent seasons, UM’s cornerbacks have taken a matador’s approach to tackling, allowing big plays because they’ve missed a tackle or got blocked.

At 6-foot-2 and 196 pounds, Gunter is a big cornerback who can handle his own on the outside.

“I’m a balanced corner, but I’m pretty aggressive on the line [of scrimmage],” Gunter said. “I like to tackle.”

Gunter has even impressed middle linebacker Denzel Perryman, who is the Hurricanes’ most explosive tackler.

“He’s real physical,” Perryman said. “I think that comes from being hungry and that will to be on the field.

Gunter, a junior, said he was recruited by some big programs out of high school, but fell short on his ACT score. Missing out on a scholarship and being forced to play on the junior college level is when “the light went on. I couldn’t let school interfere with my career as a football player so school comes first.”

Although Gunter grew up in Alabama, he followed the Hurricanes as a kid.

“If I had the chance [to go to UM], I told my momma, ‘I’m going to take it,'” said Gunter, the eldest of five children. “And here it goes.”